Recap: Parks and Recreation 4×18 – “Lucky”

Parks and Rec hits another home run, proving once and for all that we are the lucky ones for having this show in our lives.

I’m not exactly what you would call “happy” about the five weeks to come, simply because of the fact that Thursday night will be completely Parks-less. But if there was any way for the show to say its brief goodbye, this episode would most definitely be it.

Penned by Nick Offerman, “Lucky” centered around Leslie and her extremely important interview with Buddy Wood. When it seems that the interview has been cancelled, Leslie, Ann, and Tom decide to blow off some campaign stress and go out for a drink (or three). Ben, on the other hand, seems a bit tightly wound due to the loss of the interview and decides not to tag along.

Cue drunk Leslie. Which I must admit is my favorite Leslie. Like I’ve said in the past, I adore all of Amy’s moments on the show when she gets play Leslie as genuine and real, but I think we can all agree that some of the greatest laughs come straight from any scene where the characters have had a little too much to drink. After all, drunk Pawnee is the best Pawnee.

I loved that the episode touched lightly enough on Ben and Leslie that we were again reminded of how sweet and lovely their relationship is, without making the dynamic seem cheesy or overacted. This is probably one of my favorite elements of the show; it is written in such a way that the audience feels the affection and cares about each of the characters, but at the same time makes it so that we are able to laugh at their misfortune and find their faults endearing and lovable.

For the first time since the Valentine’s Day episode, I was happy with Tom and Ann. I was a huge advocate of them getting together, but in recent episodes, I wasn’t quite sure where the writers wanted to go with the Haverkins storyline. However, Tom and Ann’s dynamic in the episode just felt right. I enjoyed the fact that Tom was on edge the whole episode, trying to appease Ann so that they wouldn’t get into another fight. This kind of put me on edge as well since, knowing Tom, I was pretty sure he was going to find a way to mess it up somehow. I realize the two were drunk for a good portion of the episode and that this might have contributed to why they got along so well, but I’ll allow it. I mean, how cute was the “Diddly diddly swag” handshake and their looks of excitement when Ann got it right? Simply adorable.

Andy’s Women Studies final was the center of the B story. I have to admit, I was glowing with pride when Andy passed the exam. He’s grown so much throughout these four seasons, and this most recent victory just goes to show how far he has come.

I loved Ron’s complete nonchalance about Andy’s teacher. The fact that he sort of sat behind the scenes, not trying at all to get her attention, made it all the more hilarious that she turned down Chris, who was flirting with her up and down, to go home with Ron. I was also so happy they brought back the joke that Ron always wears a red shirt the day after he has sex. I feel like the most devout lovers of the show really got that joke, and I will be the first to admit that this made me feel extremely important as a Parks fan.

Finally, we have Jerry Gergich, the human letter-filing machine. I think this storyline sort of speaks for itself, but I really have to give props to Retta on this one. We all love Donna’s camera looks because they say so much without saying anything at all. This episode was like a marathon of Donna looks, and the comedic effect was so brilliantly executed as a result.

Bravo to Offerman for writing such a wonderful episode. He did such a great job of highlighting the strengths of all ten characters, without leaving anyone out or putting too much emphasis on any one character. I realize this is no easy feat and, judging from what I saw, I am more than optimistic to see what Nick will write in the season(s) to come. (Fingers crossed!)

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